All about Food

Its a famous snack from the State of Kerala – God’s Own Country. Basically, it’s banana ( Nenthra pazham) dipped in AP flour batter and deep fried. Pazham pori will be crispy from outside and soft cooked banana inside. 
Ingredients required are:
• Kerala banana fully ripped, but slightly firm( Nenthra pazham) 3 nos skin removed and cut in half vertically. You may cut in to smaller pieces. It’s purely your choice. • A P Flour 1cup• Rice flour* 1 tbsp – Optional• Sugar 1tsp• Baking soda 1/3 tsp• Salt 1/4 tsp• A pinch of Turmeric powder • Coconut oil or Vegetable oil for frying
Take AP Flour, Rice flour in a mixing bowl. Add sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix well. Now add water little by little till you get the batter to dropping consistency. The batter should be thick enough to give a perfect coating on bananas. Add turmeric and mix well. This gives the fritters more Golden yellow color. 
Now heat a hard bottom wok under medium flame. Pour required oil and once the oil attained requisite temperature, dip the banana slices in batter and drop it slowly in oil. Please ensure you are not over crowding the wok. Fry fritters batch by batch. Keep turning each fritters after 3 minutes on one side and flip over other side for another 2 minutes. Serve hot. Ideal to be served as Teatime snack. 

Happy Cooking! 

Ingredients required:

• Potatoes 250 gms cut in 2″ – 2.5″ long Strips. • Broccoli florets 250 gms  similar length size of potatoes• Onion 2 medium size chopped• Garlic paste 1 tsp• Ginger paste 1 tsp• Tomatoes 2 medium size cut in quarter• Green chilli 2 nos slitted• Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp• Fennel seeds 1/2 tsp• Red chilly powder 1/2 tsp• Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp• Coriander powder 1/2 tsp• Garam masala 1/2 tsp• Kasuri methi 1/2 tsp• Amchur (Mango powder) 1/4 tsp• Oil for cooking 2 tbsp• Ghee 1 tbsp• Salt to taste• Coriander leaves 1 sprig• Ginger julienne for garnish
Soak Broccoli florets in turmeric & salt water solution for about 15 minutes. This will ensure removal of any insects or worms that is normally found in these types of vegetables. Also soaking broccoli or any cruciferous vegetables in turmeric & salt solution or vinegar & salt solution will remove if any pesticidal residue or any pathogens present in it. 
Drain the florets and allow to dry.
Heat a Wok on medium flame. Pour the oil and once it’s hot, add the cumin seeds and after a minute so, add fennel seeds and saute till it starts sputtering. Now add chopped onion and saute till it’s translucent. Add now the washed and drained potato. Turn the flame high and give it a good toss. Let the potato get slight brown in color. Add ginger paste and garlic paste and saute till raw aroma from ginger and garlic fade away. Turn the flame to medium and add in the rest of powder masalas except kasuri methi & amchur powder. 
Add the drained broccoli florets and mix well and saute for about 3 minutes. Sprinkle little water, cover the wok and cook for about 10 minutes.Check for salt. Add tomatoes,kasuri methi, amchur powder and mix well. If you prefer to have the vegetables with little semi liquid gravy, add half a cup of water and cook for another 5 minutes. If not, it’s time to put off flame. Pour the reserved ghee and mix well. Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves and garnish with ginger julienne. 

Happy cooking! 

A summer squash also known as Courgette is known for its several health benefits. It’s loaded with several Nutrients, Minerals & Vitamins. It has Vitamins C’, K’, B6′, also has Folate, Copper, Phosphorus, Thiamine. Antioxidants present in Zucchini helps to reduce Cholesterol level, reduction of Blood pressure, improving Heart health &  vision. 

Ingredients required to prepare Zucchini are:

• Zucchini 500 gms• Bread crumbs 1/2 cup• All purpose flour 1/2 cup• Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup• Freshly crushed black pepper 1tsp• Finely chopped garlic 1tsp• Chopped parsley 1 tbsp• Cheese cream – for garnish• Egg 1 nos• Kosher salt as required• Olive oil 1 tbsp
Step 1Wash and grate zucchini. Using a cheese cloth, squeeze out the water and allow to drain water content. 
Step 2In a mixing bowl, add zucchini, bread crumbs, A P flour, Parmesan cheese, garlic, chopped parsley, pepper and salt. Mix all together well. Now break in the egg in a bowl, whisk it nicely and add it along with other ingredients. Stir it well. Let all ingredients mix well. 
Step 3Heat a pan on medium flame. Pour required oil to grease the pan. Scoop a tablespoonful of batter and flatten it to circle shape by using a ring mould, or by using a spatula. I’m sure you can give it a good shape. Cook it till underside turned to golden brown for minimum 3 minutes. Now flip and cook other side for another 3 minutes. Ensure both sides are well done. Golden brown searing will give a great crispy texture. Serve hot with a dollop of cream cheese. 

Happy Cooking!

Ingredients required:

• Basa fillet cut in slice and diced to large cube size 500 gms• Garlic crushed 6 cloves• Crushed black peppercorn 2 tsp• Lemongrass stalk 4 nos cut in to 1- 1/2″ length. • Coriander(Cilantro)roots 4 nos • Oyster sauce 1 tbsp• Fish sauce 1tbsp• Sugar 1 tsp• Kosher salt to taste• Corn starch slurry 2 tbsp• Kaffir lime leaves 3 nos finely chopped• Cooking oil for frying

Use a mortar and pestle to pound garlic, coriander roots, lemongrass stalks, peppercorns and garlic to a coarse paste. Make sure you pound well lemongrass until it’s soft,fluffy and stringy. Add this to fish cubes. Pour in oyster sauce, fish sauce, sugar and salt and mix well. Now prepare cornstarch slurry and add to fish and mix thoroughly. Ensure, the clumps of lemongrass need to be broken down while mixing. 
Cover the fish using cling film and let it rest for half an hour or more. Heat a pan, pour required oil to fry the fish. Drop in pieces of fish along with bits of lemongrass and coriander roots. Make sure you are frying the fish by batches and taking out all lemongrass and coriander roots which might have left loose and separated from the fish pieces. Add on chopped kaffir line leaves and toss well. 
The ingredients used here are very similar to preparing Thai lemongrass fried chicken. Except the fish. Try it out. You will relish. 

Happy Cooking! 

Ingredients required:

• Brussels sprouts 250 gms. Soak it in salt & vinegar solution for about half an hour. This will remove away any bacterial contamination if any• Celery stalk finely chopped 1 tsp• Finely chopped garlic 1 tsp• Freshly crushed black pepper 1 tsp• Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp• Kosher salt as required • Butter 1 tbsp• Olive oil 1 tsp• Walnut 4 nos• Pistachio 10 nos.

Heat a pan over medium flame. Add butter and once it’s melted, add in the washed and drained Brussels sprouts. Add required salt and give a good flip and keep searing the sprouts. Add chopped celery, garlic and add in pepper powder, Worcestershire sauce, and keep cooking for about 5 minutes.Now pour olive oil and stir well. Add the nuts and give it a good toss. Cover the pan, cook for 5 minutes and put off the flame. Let it remain for a while, open the pan lid only before serving it. 

Happy cooking! 

An ideal option to use up your old ripened kimchi. Inorder to give it more flavor and texture,meat or vegetables could be added along. However adding bacon would be an excellent choice. Here, I would be using just Chicken instead. 

Ingredients required:
• Kimchi 11/2 cup• Steamed rice* 3 cups• Boneless chicken 1 cup. Cut in to thumbnail size• Eggs** 3 nos• Garlic chopped 1tsp• Onion 1 medium size diced• Spring onion (Scallions) 2 stalks cut in to an inch length long• Sesame oil 1 tbsp• Cooking oil 1 tbsp• Roasted Sesame seeds 1 tsp• Salt to taste

* For best result, using refrigerated leftover rice would be apt, instead of freshly cooked rice. If you wanted to use fresh rice, spread the rice on a platter and allow to cool at room temperature. 
** Fried eggs, preferably a sunnyside up would be an excellent option. However, it’s purely personal preference. 

Preheat a wok on medium flame. Once it’s hot, pour in the oil and spread across the wok. Add chopped garlic and the onion and saute for about 2 minutes or till the aroma of garlic is dissipated and onion turns translucent. It’s time to add your preferred meat and saute for about 5 minutes or half cooked. 
Add now the kimchi and stir well. Should you require little water, you may drain 1/4 cup of kimchi juice from your kimchi pot and add in to chicken. Add the rice and mix thoroughly. Bring down the flame to low and check for salt.Add now the sesame oil and the green onion. Once again mix well and put off the flameWhile serving, place the cooked egg on top of rice, sprinkle few roasted sesame seeds. 
Happy Cooking! 

Come winter  it’s time to prepare heart throbbing, delicious all time favorite carrot halwa. 

Ingredients required:

• Fresh carrot. Washed, Peeled and grated 1 kilograms• Ghee (clarified butter) 250 gms• Full cream milk 1 litres• Sugar 250 gms• Mawa(khoya) 250 gms• Cashew nut 1/4 cup• Almond 1/4 cup blanched & peeled• Raisins/Sultanas 1/4 cup• Green cardamom powder 1 tsp
Heat a large kadai over medium flame. Pour in the ghee ( reserve around 100 ml for later usage) and once it’s hot and attained desired temperature, fry the cashew and almonds until it’s light golden color. Remove the nuts using a spider and in the same kadai, add the grated carrot and saute for 5 minutes. Time to add milk and give it a good stir. Let the carrot cook in milk for about 20 minutes. Intermittently, keep stirring to avoid catching at bottom. 
Once the carrot is done, pour in the remaining ghee and add sugar to it. Keep stirring. Let the sugar melt and bond with carrot shreds. Now add Mawa and mix well and cook for another 10 minutes. Add cardamom powder and mix well. Finally, add fried nuts and mix well. 
Happy Cooking!. 

Water melon is known for its health benefits and there is nothing waste from this fruit. The rind can be used as substitute for cucumber, in Indian cooking for preparing curries, and now I’m preparing a Cold soup from its rinds. But certainly not the green outer cover, but the white juicy flesh part.This soup is so refreshing, it serve as a body cooler during these Summer days. 

So let’s make the soup. 

Ingredients required:
•  Water melon rind 3 cups. Remove the green outer skin and chopped. • Lemon juice 2 tbsp• Roasted cumin seeds powder 1 tsp• Black pepper powder 1/2 tsp• Kosher salt as required• Fresh mint leaves 3 to 4 sprigs• Honey 1 tbsp or can be substituted with Sugar • Birds eye chilli* 1 no• Fresh cream 100 ml

In a blender jar, take melon rind, mint leaves, birds eye chilly and grind to a smoothie consistency. Add lemon juice, roasted cumin seeds powder, pepper powder, salt, honey and fresh cream. Just pulse it for few seconds. 
Serve it chilled, garnish with fresh mint sprig. 
* Birds eye chilli is recommended to get the heat infusion to balance sweetness of Watermelon and not for spice. 
Happy Cooking! 

Saas ni machi is one of the most favourite among Parsi dish. It’s normally served during Parsi wedding.No Parsi wedding is complete without serving this sweet, tangy spicey fish delicacy. 

Ingredients required:

• Fish* 500 gms. Cleaned, washed and pat dried. • Onion 2 medium size chopped• Garlic 6 cloves• Green chilly 4 nos• Curry leaves 1 sprig• Ginger 1″ length ( could be optional) • Black pepper 1/2 tsp• Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp• Rice flour 3 tbsp• Tomatoes** small size cut in halves 4 nos• Lime juice from 1 medium sized• Coriander leaves 2 sprig• Mint leaves 2 sprigs• Egg 1no• Vinegar 1/2 tsp• Sugar 1/2 tsp• Cooking oil 3 tbsp• Salt to taste

* You may use either Pomfret, Red snapper or King fish. ** Preferably Cherry tomatoes. 

Step 1.Let’s grind a paste by using onion, garlic, green chili and ginger. Grind it to a  chunky consistency. 

Step 2.Time to marinate the fish. Take washed and drained fish. Sprinkle little salt, lime juice and pepper powder. Mix well and leave it to test for atleast half an hour. If you have time, refrigerate the fish for atleast an hour. 

Step 3.Heat a pan over medium flame. Pour oil. Once oil is hot, add cumin seeds,curry leaves and saute till it’s about to crackle  Add the grounded paste and saute till its raw aroma diminish. Add rice flour and saute for about 3 minutes. Add little water and whisk well to avoid any lumps.keep adding water little by little according to required consistency. As the sauce starts to get thickening, add coriander leaves and mint leaves and cherry tomatoes.(Preferably cut in to halves).Add little salt. Remember, sakta is added to fish while marination. Now time to add fish and cook on low flame for about 6 minutes. 
Step 4

Now time to perform the crucial process of giving the final touch for Saas ni machi. 
Take an egg, whisk nicely. Add the sugar and give it can good whisk to get it perfectly emulsified.Add the vinegar to it and mix well. Remove the fish from flame and allow to cool a bit. Remove the fish pieces from the sauce to enable you to mix the egg along with gravy.Pour the egg in to it little by little and keep whisking if not the egg may get poached. The heat in gravy would be sufficient enough to get the egg mixture cooked and get amalgamated to derive a delicious sauce. Check for salt. Now add back the fish pieces to gravy and cook for another 2 minutes if you feel, the fish and sauce need to be more hot, but remember at complete low flame and stirring from sides with out breaking fish pieces. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. 
Happy cooking! 

Ingredients required:

• Chicken* 500 gms. Washed & drained• Almond paste 1/2 cup• Yoghurt 1/4 cup• Coconut milk 1/2 cup• Ginger paste 1/2 tap• Garlic paste 1/2 tsp• Green chilly paste 1/2 tsp• Roasted Cumin powder 1/2 tsp• Turmeric powder 1 tsp• Red Chilly powder 1 tsp• Roasted coriander powder 1 tsp• Garam masala powder 1 tsp• Saffron strands a pinch. Roasted & powdered • Fried onions crushed 1/2 cup• Lime juice 1 tsp• Finely chopped coriander leaves 2 sprigs• Finely chopped mint leaves 2 sprigs• Green chilly slitted 3 nos• Black peppercorn 1/2 tsp• Ghee (clarified butter) 1 tbsp• Cooking oil 1 tbsp• Salt to taste 

Take all above ingredients except chicken in a mixing bowl and mix well. Once it’s completely mixed well, add the chicken, let the chicken be completely immersed in the marinade and let the chicken be marinated for minimum 6 hours or overnight. The more marination time, result in better taste.After marinating the chicken for 6 hours, now heat a pan at high flame and add the chicken along with the remaining marinade to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes in high flame. Keep stirring to ensure all the chicken pieces are evenly cooked. Check for salt and consistency. Cover the pan and cook for about 40 minutes under low flame. Switch off the flame and let it remain as it’s for about 10 minutes for resting. This process will enhance the chicken taste.Serve it along with Nan, partha, Tandoor Roti or Rice. 

Happy Cooking!